


Fathoms Below

by IohannaFacTotum



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, M/M, Mermaids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-11-24
Packaged: 2018-02-26 22:04:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2668037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IohannaFacTotum/pseuds/IohannaFacTotum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Upon one summer's morning, I carelessly did stray, down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The music could be heard for miles. Stringed instruments and makeshift drums and flutes and horns rang out through the clear night, the tempo of their rendition of “Alas, I Must Live All Alone” matched only by the sea herself as she rocked the ship back and forth, side to side with the gentle hand of a mother rocking a cradle.

 As the crew played, Captain Smith rested at the rail, looking out to the horizon – invisible, now, as the stars were reflected in the still water. It was beautiful and did wonders for his nerves, which the offbeat music certainly did not. Even so, it was nice to see them enjoying themselves. The passage across the Mediterranean was a long one, and their journey was beginning to draw to a close as they neared the coast of France. He could almost see it, out amidst the stars – the lighthouses and beaches of the south, promising things one would begin to believe impossible after so long on the water.

 The rigging squeaked and squealed as a handful of men lifted a net of fish over the side. He heard the dripping and sloshing and slapping of the struggling creatures. Then, as though someone drug the tip of a blade along cold metal, a shrill shriek split the calm air. The music came to a grinding halt and surprisingly Erwin missed it, fearing whatever had interrupted it would be decidedly less pleasant.

 “Captain!” came a gruff call, and Erwin turned and made his way to the starboard side, where the large woven net lay soaked on the treated wood. It was full of fish and sea creatures of many sizes, and it seemed they had even snagged a small shark of some sort, but the thing that grabbed his attention was no shark. From underneath the pile of flopping fins, something moved, slithering to hide itself beneath the other sea fauna. A long, serpentine body, as thick around as Erwin’s own chest, failed to cover itself completely, and as Erwin’s eyes landed on the thing, he found himself breathless.

 The creature was no less than eight feet long, maybe ten. It was long and thin and had its tail not so resembled a jagged fish, he might have thought they caught one of the fabled dragons from the East. Pearlescent scales reflected the light from the lamps and glistened in all manner of brilliant greens and blues, covering a body that was lined with spiny fins, equally as brilliant in color. A string of shells and sea plants decorated it simply and elegantly. At first, that was all that was visible, and the creature tried again to cover itself, but the men began to stab at the fish covering it, shifting them and revealing the thing, pointing their weapons at it as they gasped and made noises of shock and wonder and awe.

 It rested back on its elbows. From the waist up, the scales thinned out to something like cracked, leathery skin of a similar color to the tail, though it much more resembled the earthy, olive tones of the men of Italy. From about mid chest, the thing looked human, albeit thin. It was certainly male in appearance, though smaller than most adult men in stature. Its face was angular, dangerously handsome, and it stared at him with green eyes that glowed in the light from under dark hair. It shielded itself from the jabs of the spears and the light of the fire until it met Erwin’s eyes. Frightened, it bared its sharp, jagged teeth and hissed at him. The eyes were not empty like an animal’s, and Erwin could feel them piercing him.

 “Wait,” he said, holding up a hand to keep the startled men at bay. They backed away though they kept their weapons ready. Erwin stared at the monster, and it narrowed its eyes suspiciously. In its eyes he saw what he took to be human emotion – fear and outrage, and even so, something in its face matched his own curiosity. He knelt beside the net.

 “Captain, wait!” his first mate, Mike called.

 “Be still, Mike,” Erwin commanded, keeping eye contact with the beast. “Can you speak?” he asked in a demanding tone.

 It withdrew from him, eyebrows drew together. Something told him the thing could understand him, even if it would not reply. It continued to stare at him, silent. When Erwin stood again, he must have startled it, because it cringed away and bared its teeth again, growling threateningly, defiantly at him.

 “Release it,” he said flippantly. Shock dawned across the creature’s face. Ah, yes – comprehension.

 “Captain, it’s a mermaid,” said an incredulous voice. “It could fetch us a hefty price ashore…”

 “Cut it loose,” he commanded again, this time in a firmer tone, and he was met with no resistance. The men set about carefully cutting away the net until the thing lurched forward towards the growing hole. They all stumbled back as it clawed at the gap, widening the hole until it could pull itself through. With incredible strength for such small arms, it lifted itself onto the rail. It threw a final glance back at the crew and its captain, then it slowly took a fish from the pile and plunged over the side back into the sea.

 It was an incredible sight, and one Erwin was sure he would never see again, and he would not spoil it with needless violence.

 “Besides, Gelgar,” he said before returning to where he stood staring out, “it was a merman.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be, who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea.

The next morning met them silent and clouded with thick fog. It was certainly a concern, considering they were nearing shallower waters, though Erwin kept his anxieties to himself. It was eerie, the cold, wet air circling around them and surrounding them as if in a deathly embrace, slithering across the deck and obscuring the water and whatever may be waiting in it. After the discovery of the night before, Erwin decided that could very well be anything.

The ship creaked and groaned with every adjustment, echoing throughout the emptiness. Even so, no one spoke except to exchange orders.

The morning passed in relative silence, uneventful as the fog began to lift and the sunlight could almost cut through it. However, a soft, musical sound rang through the heavy air, and the men shifted with unrest.

The perfectly harmonizing voices grew in volume and number and the men seemed transfixed, either with fear or fascination. The melancholy song carried over the waves and through the fog.

_Oh, come back from sea, my dear darling, to me_  
 _And make me a bride of your own,_  
 _Or else for your sake, my poor heart, it will break_  
 _And here I shall die all alone, alone,_  
 _And here I shall die all alone…_

 “Cover your ears!” Erwin barked, but the song had already done its work. As the voices carried on in a haunting harmony, the men made no move to follow his orders, and even Erwin himself became drowsy, disoriented, drawn towards the helm. He approached it, peering over the railing into the water. Something caused the surface of the murky water to ripple and he watched carefully, catching a glint of green…

_And here I shall die all alone, alone,_  
 _And here I shall die all alone…_

It could have been seconds, moments, hours before it happened, but finally the hull made a wretched snapping and cracking sound as the ship ground to a halt, jolting all of the men forward and knocking them off of their feet.

The tilting of the ship was almost immediate and Erwin jumped into action. “Everyone to the dinghies!” he cried, and the men jumped to action.

As they rushed to climb into the smaller boats, the singing stopped and turned to vicious, playful laughter. It could be heard all around them, and the sound of splashing and rippling water surrounded the ship at all sides. Over the rail, the men watched as creatures much like the one they had captured the previous night flitted and danced in the water, peeked their beautiful heads above the surface to smile and wave.

“Look at them,” one of the men murmured in complete awe, locking eyes with a beautiful blonde as she tread the water, her breasts just under the rippling surface, covered by her wet, wavy locks. “They’re beautiful…” She smiled a close-lipped smile. Others poked their heads up nearby, gathering under the dinghies. As the sailors hurried into the boats, they giggled and beckoned them nearer with their long, thin fingers.

Another sailor looked hopefully at his fellows. “Do you think they’re here to save us? Do you think they’ll help us to shore?” he asked before casting his eyes to the friendly beauties below. Erwin found himself wondering where their male counterparts were – perhaps drifting in the depths below, waiting.

“I think they’re here to _eat_ us,” replied another, Nanaba. Fear and resolution was written across her face. “Pay no mind to them, we must row to shore!”

As the two lifeboats full of men and women settled on the water, the effects of the wreck began to show. Water was dragged down in a fearful pool around the ship as it tilted and sank, slowly. Some of the men watched and their hearts sank with it, for the maidens were beginning to circle the ships, staying well away from the oars and the guns and blades that were being drawn.

At last, one ventured nearer. Pearls and shells were strung in her hair, colorful seaweed braided into it. She dared to draw nearer, slowly as if not to startle the men. She seemed fearful, and so they hesitantly let her pass. She carefully gripped the side of the little boat, so gently that it did not rock, and lifted herself to look at Nanaba. They stared at each other, wordless for a while, then the creature reached out with one cold hand and brushed Nanaba’s cheek. Nanaba shivered.

“ _What ails my pretty jewel? What heart's pain so cruel? What ails my pretty jewel, that do cause her for to cry?_ ”

Nanaba stared at her for a moment, then finally asked, enchanted, “What is it that you want?”

The mermaid smiled at her then, and put both hands gently on her cheeks, like a lover, drawing her closer to the side of the little boat. “Oh Susan, Susan, lovely dear! My vows shall ever true remain. Let me kiss off that falling tear…” she cooed in song. She leaned in as though to kiss the transfixed sailor, but Mike yanked Nanaba back by her shirt, slicing at the creature with a blade and nicking one of its hands. It bled red.

The monster reared back, sinking into the water, teeth bared as it screamed and snarled at Mike. The gills at its neck turned bright orange and blue and green, threatened. It dove under again and the boats began to rock violently. The maids shrieked and howled, circling and pushing them in an attempt to flip the boats. More began to surface, some of them male in appearance.

Gunshots rang through the air. “To shore!” Erwin called out as he pounded the head of an advancing mermaid with one of the oars. As they began to frantically fight and fire at the creatures, he looked out among them and spotted the eyes of the one who had escaped them last night. It stayed back, as though waiting, and watched him, only him, only its eyes and the crown of its head cresting the water. The boat rocked dangerously then and Erwin almost lost his balance.

The familiar merman disappeared quickly, and seconds later, some of the maids rocking Erwin’s boat were ripped from it, as though something was dragging them from below. Bubbles and blood frothed to the surface and screaming could be heard beneath the waves.

Mike and Nanaba hurriedly rowed their boat away, escaping the pull of the sinking ship as their comrades fought off the hoard with relative success. Erwin’s, however, was quickly being overwhelmed until at last it toppled and the men spilled into the sea. The butt of one man’s gun fell against the captain and he crumpled as the others fought to swim away, his vision fading to black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fig for all his riches, his merchandise, and gold, true love is grafted in my heart; give me my sailor bold:

As the other dinghy rowed to safety – reluctantly, fearfully, sadly – the merman tore away from the others, who left him to feed on the splashing and thrashing sailors. Bleeding and beaten, he dashed through the water with ease and grabbed the wrist of the captain. He struggled and fought against the water and weight, dragging him along, trying to follow the retreating boat.

Something occurred to him then, and he reached down to feel the man’s neck. Finding no gills there, he lifted him up above the water. He could see the boat rowing away in the distance and he tugged along the large, heavy man desperately, closing the distance slower than he had hoped. The extra weight and the wounds sustained from fighting off his schoolmates fought harder against him than the water, but he pressed on, dragging the man behind him. He began to fear that his school or sharks or other creatures might smell the blood spilling from him, and with the man on his back he would have a difficult time fighting anything off. With that thought in mind, he struggled to maintain his speed. Even so, he was falling behind.

He lifted his own head above the water and called out, mimicking the human sounds he had heard before. “Wait!” he called. “Captain! Wait!” he ducked down and swam closer. “Mike! Wait! Be still!”

He was pleased to see that they had stopped rowing and the tall one, Mike, stood and looked out. “Wait, wait! It’s Erwin!” he looked back at the others.

“That wasn’t Erwin I heard,” Nanaba replied, tears rolling down her face. “I think it’s a trap, Mike. We have to keep going.”

“Wait, no… One of the merpeople is carrying him…”

“It’s a _trap_ ,” Gelgar snapped. “Just as Nanaba said.”

The merman had caught up to them then, gills straining with the attempt to catch his breath. He lifted Erwin and tried to push him into the boat. With the shocked aid of Mike, he succeeded and the captain fell into the dinghy with a dull thump.

The merman shifted his eyes back to the carnage, where the screaming had finally stopped. He looked frightened. He turned back to Mike and opened his mouth as if to speak, paused, opened his mouth again, paused, growled. He pursed his thin lips, pointed to Erwin, patted his own gills, and splashed the water.

Mike’s eyes lit with understanding, and he turned Erwin over to help expel the water from his lungs, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the helpful creature, who looked to his invisible sisters again, now terrified of their retribution.

Nanaba seized the chance and hoisted him out of the water and into the boat. He writhed and screamed and tried to claw his way back over. His powerful tail thrashed and threatened to topple them or send them flying into the sea, but Nanaba threw herself on him as the others pointed guns and two picked up the oars and began viciously rowing to shore.

They didn’t speak as Mike made quick work of helping Erwin gain his breath again, alternating between mouth-to-mouth breathing and pressing on his chest violently, and finally the man coughed up a lungful of water and lay in the boat, groaning and panting quietly. Levi, too, vomited saltwater over the side of the boat

The moment Nanaba released him so that he could do so in peace, Levi whipped around as though he had been waiting for it. He reached for Erwin, who was still resting, and wrapped his clammy hand around the man’s bolo tie. He ripped the braided leather cord holding the fine piece, grasping the bright emerald gem and its golden trimming in his palm. Then, before anyone could stop him and harm him or regain his stolen treasure, he flung himself from the side of the ship and into the pseudo-safety of the sea.


End file.
